Defensive struggles have become the theme of the season for the LA Galaxy, who have conceded the first goal during their past four games and 12 of their 22 matches so far this season. Riding a nine game unbeaten streak makes it easy for fans to look the other way with the defensive worries, but continuing to have heroic efforts to come back from behind time and time again can place a heavy burden on a team.
Scoring goals had been the bigger issue earlier in the season. Before their current undefeated streak, the Galaxy were averaging just 1.4 goals scored per match for their first 13 games of the season. During their past nine matches since their last loss on May 30, the Galaxy are averaging 2.8 goals per game.
Figuring out consistent goal scoring was a major relief for coach Sigi Schmid, but the defensive concerns continue to affect matches significantly. Following the team’s match against Orlando City SC, during which the team came from behind to win 4-3, Schmid warned about the dangers of continuing to rally to erase deficits.
“I tell the team if we keep doing this, just now after the game, that I’ll be 90 by the time the season’s over. It’s great for the fans. It’s great for television and all of that stuff, but it’s really hard on me emotionally. … I’m not happy that we’re always in the position that we have to come back.”
The frustration carries over to the players themselves, as captain and defender Ashley Cole was visibly upset heading into the postgame interviews. After giving one word answers to the first couple questions, Cole finally opened up about the difficult situation the team’s defense is in:
“We go into the game confident. We don’t want to concede goals and we want to win games, we get the players to score goals,” he said. ” … But then we concede sloppy, silly goals. It’s difficult. It’s hard to swallow. I stand here in a bad mood, but at the end of the day, we won the game and we’re climbing the standings.”
Something could be said about the difficulty of the schedule the Galaxy have had to face so far in the season. In their remaining 12 matches, only one game, which happens to be against cross-town rival LAFC, is against an opponent currently ahead of them in the overall standings. Theoretically, the Galaxy have already endured the tougher part of their season and better days should be ahead.